Mining machine with wedgetype cutter



Jan. 19, 1954 E. D. M. GULLlcK MINING MACHINE WITH wEDGE-TYPE CUTTER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1950 M LMM@ Attorneys E. D. M. GULLICKMINING MACHINE WITH WEDGE-TYPE CUTTER Jan. 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Feb. 25, 1950 Mim mm nvenlor.- ,era/v 50a/cfr A tlorneyI V ed tostrip' oi t Patented Jan. 179, 1954 I v TYPE CUTTER" 10 Claims..(CIJZGZL-SY ,s'lhiisinvcntio re ,i coal cr thmlf I iiofujsly proposedypeha ing ajcutte'sr head' adaptjjf j f l from@ Scam/,in the advance."0f the .e' by; W'iidgmg. of .Splitting oi the mieral'alon pane'approximately par,- allel tothe face of the seam; Where, as isusually is`Y doublezcndedthat is in fach" affita tivo c re are twol suchcutter 'eneral not Being Iiiiat'erial to the presentlinvention. lI norder thatvtherelationship of the invVntion to the machine can beadequately under- I chine is; given. i f

stood', the following' brief description of the mak he machine shown isdouble-ended, comprising mainly a framelike body l, 8, 9, and II), acarriage I l and two'lcutter heads I2 and i3. 'Ifhe body onsstsioftti/oY transverse end Walls and 8, to4 which theheajds are connected',the'tWo longitudinal guide loa'rsy 9 and I0, on which the carriage issliably mounted.

` kThe'.carriage incorporates hydraulic propulsion apparatus'. Thisapparatus includes a vertical hydraulic jack consisting of a cylinderlfd vif/'ith' ai foot' I5, the cylinder being vertically movable in aholder f6 incorporated in the' carriage, and al" pi'ston-operated headil which normally rests upon the holder. The propulsion apparatus alsoincludes'a hydraulic rain unit consisting' of a horizontal cylinderISAand a'ram i@ extending from both endsof'the'cylinder and engageableat itsends'with the Walls and 3. i

yIn orderv that the machine shall be propelled sayr fro'inleft to'right' (as viewed in'Figs. 1 and 2) the jalclii isoperate'd firstly todepress its foot l5 against` the` floory of the mine and secofndly tolift its head' Il against the mine roof. The' jack thus `eiktendeclrprovides a securely an'- chored abutment. Nex'tlthe ram unit is operated-s""tll"a't thev raliiry I9" is'forced to the right, the ranjthu's'erigagingthev/all 8 and pushing the'framelike'body 14H3, with the headI3 leadinfupori the mine "floor towards the right, the gidebars" 9, lsliding through the now sta"- tionaiiycarrie;'gev Il.' The'head I3 nowperforms its cuttingl stroke Thereafter the jack` is'operateds" thatitslrieadis"= loweredv and its" f'oot raised.,V thuscbhtracting the jackand freeing? it from theroofand' floor. Finally, the ram unit isoperated's tliia'i'f'tll'ey rain I9' is forced to the lft; therlntlius'eilga/gng the real' ii/"all l S0 that the?cariafg I l isp'shedtdtherigh't. The carriage freelyv slides to' theright hand endl ofthe'fguijd'ebars; IIl to take up a new position of anchorage'folf AVthenext futtingstrok.' This dbinlijlet 'lH'@yleifopl'atil'lnsf4 Y inislouifutter" h s i2 and I3 are ofj similar construction, ,Thereforeonly one of thephea'ds,

" namely therrigh't hand' yh``a' cl I3 is' shown in Fig; 3

and is hereinafter described, y y

Intlie e'xa'rn'plgf each"r cutter vheadv comprises aleadingictten'gilarnged at an intermediate le'il, y"two 'cutters 2'I`and22 aliove the cutter 2-il, ai'oifctter'ad aroof'cutter 2d. The cut-2,666,627 s s -v ters 20-24 have edges 20A- 24A all nearly in the samevertical plane A-A, Figs. 2 and 3. Both the floor and roof cutters 23,24 also have horizontal edges 23B, 24B. The floor cutter is associatedwith a sloping ramp 23C for lifting the coal from the floor anddeflecting it sidewise from the path of the machine for conveyance fromthe mine workings.

Each head is made as a hollow casing 25 inside which the cutters 20, 2|and 22 are mounted. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the cutter 22 is theforepart of one arm 26 of a lever which is pivotally mounted on avertical-axis ulcrum pin 21 in the casing 25. The arrangement is suchthat the cutter 22 is laterally movable in relation to the casing 25 andtherefore also .in relation to the coal face newly cut by the machine,said face being in the plane A-A and being parallel to the previouslycut face B, Fig. 2. As usual in ma.

chines of the type stated, the cutter 22 is of wedge form in plan. Thecutter is set at an acute angle to the new coal face.

The cutter 22 is associated with a heel 28 which in the same example isa metal body having a flat vertical face 29 which is approximatelycoplanar with the cutter edge 22A in the normal working positions of thecutter and heel. The heel 28 is mounted on the rear of the cutter so asto be movable laterally in relation to the casing 25 in unison with thecutter about the fulcrum 21; but, in addition, the heel is slidablymounted on the cutter so as to be movable relatively to it lengthwisethereof; that is, in either direction parallel to the cutter'sinclination to the new coal face. The end of the heel 28, including theface 29, is also of wedge form, said end being arranged to act wedgewiseagainst the new coal face in the acute angle between the cutter and theface.

The movements of the heel 28 relatively to the cutter 22 are under thecontrol of the cutter. In the example, this control is exercised by arearwardly extending arm 30 of the same lever as the cutter arm 26through the intermediary of hydraulic cylinder devices incorporated in aclosed hydraulic system. In the example,.these devices comprise adouble-acting cylinder-and-piston device 3|, 32 applied to the heel 28and two mutually opposed cylinder-and-ram devices 33, 34 and 35, 36applied to the control arm 30. The piston 32 is connected to the heel bymeans of a piston-rod 37, and opposite ends of its cylinder 3| areconnected by conduits 38, 39 to the outer ends of the cylinders 33 and35 of the respective cylinder-and-ram devices. The cylinders of thesedevices are mounted as a unitary assembly in the casing 25 and theirrams 34 and 36 engage the arm 30 between them. The arrangement is suchthat if the cutter 22 moves laterally, so does the arm 30; and this armmoves one ram 34 (or 36) in one direction, the other ram following; andthis movement of the rams is associated with a corresponding movement ofthe piston 32 and of the heel 28 attached to it.

The cylinders 33 and 35 have the same crosssectional area. This area maybe so related to the effective area of the piston 32, and the lengths ofthe two arms 26 and 30 may be so relatively proportioned, that anymovement of the cutter edge 22A would be accompanied by a greatermovement of the heel face 29.

In operation of the machine, assume that an unusually resistant portionof the seam of coal C is encountered by the cutter 22; this will forcethe cutter to turn so as to dig more deeply into the new face A--A. Theresultant movement of the movable components 32. 34 and 36 of thehydraulic devices is such that the heel face 29 is moved forciblyrelative to the cutter edge 22A against the coal face and, by wedgingitself in the acute angle between the cutter and the face, will act toturn the cutter 22 laterally back towards its initial position. Thisreturn movement of the cutter'will cause the heel lalso to slide back toits initial position under the action of the hydraulic devices.Conversely, should the resistance of the seam be materially reduced, thecutter 22 may tend to withdraw to a shallower depth of cut. Thismovement will cause a corresponding `but greater withdrawal of the heelface 29 from the coal face with the result that the cutter will be freeto return under the reaction of the seam to its proper depth. Again,this return movement of the cutter will have the effect of returning theheel to its normal setting under the action of the hydraulic devices.

Although, in the example, the invention has been described as applied toa single cutter 22, it will be manifest that each of the other cutters20 and 2| may be provided correspondingly with a heel and hydraulicdevices to regulate the cutting depth at levels at which these cutterswork.

I claim:

1. A machine for mining coal or other mineral by moving along a seam andof the type stated comprising a cutter head, a cutter which is mountedon said head so as to cut a new face longitudinally of the seam and soas to be movable laterally under the influence of the mineral, saidcutter being arranged on the head to make an acute angle with the newface, a heel associated with the cutter and arranged within said anglebetween the cutter and the face, means for moving the heel laterallyrelative to the cutter, control apparatus for controlling the operationof said heel-moving means, and means operatively connecting the cutterand said control apparatus, said connecting means acting whenever thecutter moves to cut deeper into the mineral to operate the heel-movingmeans to thrust the heel wedgewise into the angle between the face andthe cutter and thus withdraw the cutter, whereas if the cutter moves tocut shallower the heel is withdrawn by the operation of said heelmovingmeans so that the cutter can return.

2. A machine according to claim l in which said heel is mounted incombination with said cutter and in which heel-guiding means on saidcutter constrains the heel to take part in any lateral movement of thecutter.

3. A machine according to claim 2 in which the heel-moving means and theheel-guiding means together comprise a hydraulic cylinderand-pistondevice mounted on the cutter and applied to the heel and the controlapparatus comprises hydraulic devices which communicate with saidfirst-mentioned device and are actuated by the said connecting meansto'actuate this device.

4. A machine for mining coal or other mineral and oi the type statedcomprising a cutter head, a cutter which is pivotally mounted on saidhead so as to be pivotable laterally under the influence of mineral inwhich a new face is being cut by the cutter, said cutter being arrangedon the head to make an acute angle with the new face, a heel mounted onthe cutter soas to pivot therewith, the heel being arranged within saidangle between the cutter and the face, means for moving the heellinearly relative to the cutter, control apparatus, ,for centrllins thereraion 0f connecting the cutter and said ccntrol apparatus, saidconnecting means acting whenever the cutter pivots to cut deeper intothemineral to operate theheel-moving means to thrust the heel pivotingwith the cutter wedgewise into the angle between the face and the cutterand thus withdraw the cutter, whereas if the cutter pivots tovcutshallower the heel pivoting with it is, in addition, withdrawn bythe operation of said heelmoving means so that the cutter can return.

5. A machine according to claim 4 in which the heel-moving meanscomprises a hydraulic cylinder-and-piston Vdevicemounted on the cutterand applied to the heel and the control apparatus comprises hydraulicdevices which communicate with said iirst-mentioned device' and areactuated by the said connecting means to actuate this device.

6. A machine for mining coal or other mineral and of the type statedcomprising a cutter head, a cutter which is mounted on said head so asto be movable laterally under the iniiuence of mineral in which a newface is being cut by the cutter, said cutter being arranged on the headto make an acute angle with the new face, a double-acting hydrauliccylinder-and-piston device'provided .on

the head, a heel associated with the cutter andv arranged within saidangle between the cutter and thevface, said heel being laterally movablerelative to the cutter by said device, a control ele-L ment movable withsaid cutter, hydraulic means operable by said element and hydraulicallycommunicating with said device so as to operate it in Y eitherdirection, said hydraulic device and means constituting a hydrauliccontrol `system such that if the cutter moves to cut deeper into themineral the heel is advanced relative to the cutter by thecylinder-and-piston device to press against the face and wedge itselfinto the angle between the face and the cutter in order to withdraw thecutter, whereas if the cutter moves to cut shallower the heel iswithdrawn relative to the cutter by said device so that the cutter canreturn.

'7. A machine according to claim 6 in which the cutter, the heel and thehydraulic cylinderand-piston device are all pivotally mounted on thehead so that, when the cutter pivots relative to the head in order toadvance or withdraw with respect to the mineral being cut, the said heeland device pivot lwith the cutter.

8. A machine according to claim l in which the heel is a body. that 'isslidable lengthwise of the cutter and has a wedge--lilte end surfaceadapted to bear'upon the new face cut in the mineral.

9. .A machine according to claim 4 in which the hee1'is a body that isslidable lengthwise of the cutter and has a wedge-like end surfaceadapted to bear upon the new face lcut in the mineral.

10. A machine according to claim 6 in which the heel is a body that isslidable lengthwise of the cutter and has a wedge-like end surfaceadapted to bear mineral.

ERNEST DONALD MERTON GULLICK.

Name Date Morgan Aug. 16, 1927 upon the new face cut in the Number

